Oct. 27, 2009 (PR Newswire) --
FRANKLIN PARK, Ill., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A. M. Castle & Co. (NYSE: CAS), a global distributor of specialty metal and plastic products, value-added services and supply chain solutions, today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009.
Consolidated net sales were $184.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009, compared to $388.9 million in the third quarter of 2008 reflecting continued weakness in demand as a result of the global recession. The Company reported a net loss for the quarter of $6.3 million, or $0.28 loss per diluted share as compared to net income of $11.5 million, or $0.50 income per diluted share in the prior year quarter.
The Company's Metals segment sales were $161.8 million in the third quarter of 2009, compared to $360.1 million in the third quarter of 2008. Total Metals revenue declined 55% compared to the prior year quarter, as volume of tons sold per day declined approximately 49% from the record levels in the prior year quarter. The demand environment was significantly weaker in the third quarter compared to the prior year quarter. Virtually all products and end-markets served by the Company were impacted by softer demand conditions.
In the Plastics segment, third quarter sales were $22.2 million compared to $28.8 million in the prior year quarter.
"The continued weakness in the overall global economy obviously had a major impact on our activity levels and financial results for the third quarter of 2009," said Michael Goldberg, President and CEO of A.M. Castle.
"During the third quarter, we continued to focus on executing our key priorities during the economic downturn. We continued to reduce our operating costs, surpassing our annual cost reduction goal of $65 million during the quarter. We now expect 2009 operating costs to be at least $75 million lower than 2008 levels. We improved our strong balance sheet during this past quarter, reducing inventory by over $19 million and lowering accounts receivable days of sales outstanding by more than 3 days from second quarter levels on a trailing three month basis," Goldberg added.
"In addition to solid execution on our key financial priorities, I am pleased to report that we successfully completed the replacement of the Castle legacy system, and we are now running nearly all of our domestic businesses on the Oracle platform. Given the scale and complexity of this initiative, our employees have done exceedingly well in implementing the changes across the entire organization," Goldberg stated.
"While demand levels remained at historically low levels, we began to see improving macroeconomic trends and signs of stabilization in the third quarter. After numerous discussions with customers and suppliers, we believe that business has bottomed and started to recover. For the balance of 2009, we will continue to focus on expense control, managing working capital, and positioning ourselves for an improved operating environment in 2010," concluded Goldberg.
Webcast Information
Management will hold a conference call at 11:00 a.m. ET today to review the Company's results for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2009. The call can be accessed via he Internet live or as a replay. Those who would like to listen to the call may access the webcast through http://www.amcastle.com.
An archived version of the conference call webcast will be accessible for replay on the above website until the next earnings conference call. A replay of the conference call will also be available for seven days by calling 303-590-3030 (international) or 800-406-7325 and citing code 4164702.
About A. M. Castle & Co.
Founded in 1890, A. M. Castle & Co. is a global distributor of specialty metal and plastic products and supply chain services, principally serving the producer durable equipment sector of the economy. Its customer base includes many Fortune 500 companies as well as thousands of medium and smaller-sized firms spread across a variety of industries. Within its metals business, it specializes in the distribution of alloy and stainless steels; nickel alloys; aluminum and carbon. Through its subsidiary, Total Plastics, Inc., the Company also distributes a broad range of value-added industrial plastics. Together, Castle operates over 56 locations throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CAS".
Regulation G Disclosure
This press release and the financial statements included in this release include non-GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial information should be considered supplemental to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.
